Join me at Grills N Grilles, Penn Valley CA, Aug 26, 2017


 

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
I'll be judging BBQ at Grills 'N' Grilles in Penn Valley, CA on August 26, 2017. Held at Western Gateway Park, this marks the 11th year of this barbecue competition that has evolved from solely a backyard event to a KCBS sanctioned four-meat competition plus a backyard competition with car show, food, beer & wine, live music, and lots of fun! And it's all for a good cause, helping to fund the good work of the United Way of Nevada County.

The event is free and so is parking. It opens to the public at 11:00 am and runs until about 4:30 pm when the BBQ contest winners are announced.

Should be a great event! Hope you can join us if you live anywhere near the venue. If not, I'll post some photos afterwards.

Here are a few pics from last year.

eQ2v4Dh.jpg


ETZ4mKK.jpg


efABhcu.jpg


4rzSTbF.jpg


0i1rS1m.jpg


Pjj0PjT.jpg
 
Well, no one melted at the 2017 Grills N Grilles BBQ Cookoff at Western Gateway Park in Penn Valley, CA...but we came pretty close to it. It was about 104°F when I left the event, and were it not for the available shade trees and gourmet ice cream sandwich from Lazy Dog Ice Cream and their mobile emergency ice cream treat dispensary, I think I might have had a meltdown, for sure.

But earlier in the day, when performing our duties as KCBS BBQ judges, we enjoyed the air-conditioned splendor of Buttermaker's Cottage, a replica of a historic structure originally on the property. I'm pretty sure A/C was not part of the original 1800's design, but I'm glad those who led the construction process strove for practicality if not complete authenticity in the reproduction process.

As a KCBS judge, you show up at a contest willing to fill any role needed that day, not just to eat copious amounts of meat. To be honest, there are some days when I show up at a contest and don't feel like eating 1.5 pounds of meat, I'd rather do something else. On this day, I was happy to volunteer to help with two non-meat-eating tasks: I did number switching on entry boxes for the 8-team backyard rib contest, and I helped with what's called the "grazing table". The grazing table is the area where entry boxes are taken once each judge has taken a sample. Leftover meat is placed in Styrofoam boxes for people in the judging area not directly sampling meat that day (e.g. people receiving the entry boxes outside the judging area, people doing the number switching on boxes, the table captains, etc.) as well as some boxes prepared for volunteers working for the event organizer/sponsor. The garnish, if any, is removed from the boxes and discarded (or in some cases collected for hungry goats or rabbits that don't mind the flavor of brisket mixed in with their parsley). Finally, the entry boxes are grouped by table and retained until after the awards ceremony, in case there are any questions about the box numbering, which box went to which judging table, etc.

Grills N Grilles is a fairly small contest, with 27 pro teams cooking the four competition meats--chicken, pork ribs, pork, and brisket--and eight backyard teams cooking pork ribs only. So it's a neat little event to attend no matter who you are, whether team, judge, or visiting public. There's a disc golf tournament early on the morning of the event and a classic car show where many proud owners from around the Sierra Foothills bring their pride and joy for all to see. And there's some food and beverage and vendors and live music thrown in for good measure, as well as a prize raffle that helps support United Way of Nevada County. In fact, the entire event is sponsored by UW and the proceeds help pay for the good works they do in their local communities. I was pleased to support the cause for the second year by providing a prize for the raffle...it always feels good to help the United Way!

Congratulations to DG Firehouse BBQ for winning GC and Smokey Luv BBQ for RGC. Well deserved! And thanks and congrats to organizer extraordinaire Ben Lobenstein for putting on a smoooooth contest.

Without further ado, here are some photos from the event. I hope you enjoy them!

hmAmGDx.jpg

It's a three hour drive from my home in San Jose to Penn Valley. This is the country road that passes behind Beale Air Force Base running from Marysville to Penn Valley. California is called "The Golden State" because of the 1849 gold rush and because of our state flower the poppy, but whenever I see grasses like this I think it's as good a reason as any to call this place "The Golden State".

C9FX5j9.jpg

KCBS contest rep Julie Poe addresses the assembled judges, with her partner-in-crime/contest rep Ian Schmidt standing on the right.

7pLM31o.jpg

Judges in the back of the room hanging on Julie Poe's every word.

WnGgcVX.jpg

The general public stepping up for a taste of authentic KCBS barbecue.

7rg1aHy.jpg

There would have been a lot of casualties had it not been for the Lazy Dog Ice Cream truck & trailer. Hope these guys made a jillion dollars!

Ju9xVAK.jpg

The fine folks from Feather Falls Brewing Company were in attendance pouring their craft beers for the thirsty crowd. They will be hosting the next event I'll be judging: Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championships at Feather Falls Casino & Lodge in Oroville, CA on September 16, 2017.

tNytLJO.jpg

As usual, there were an assortment of teams using WSMs for some or all of their barbecue entries.

KIopLX4.jpg

Thin Blue Que had some brand-spanking new WSMs and a couple of more-experienced WSMs on-hand.

3j6W09f.jpg

I like the beefy rolling wooden platform...

s7H0owP.jpg

...and especially the "handle" extensions added to all of the vent dampers, bottom and top. I can imagine this being really helpful on the charcoal bowl for the guy or gal who has trouble bending over due to a bad back!

Continued...
 
ifHqgIF.jpg

The unholy marriage of a 22.5" WSM lid with a BGE body. My knees buckled and I got short of breath when I saw it. With Gina Rosner from 2 Rolling Bones BBQ team.

03m2bS0.jpg

And then there were the cars. This is a 1976 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. As I told the owner, this was *almost* my dream car as a kid. I wanted the 1977/78 version from Smokey & The Bandit, but it wasn't meant to be. Or maybe the Firebird Formula.

VnqtlCH.jpg

More cool grilles...

942uG0b.jpg


Fos8fmV.jpg


A18Ehjs.jpg


UdNrjq9.jpg

...and cool grills.

c2VdBF2.jpg


d4LLC2P.jpg

Last but not least, your Grand Champion DG Firehouse BBQ...

GdMhNSG.jpg

...and your Reserve Grand Champion Smokey Luv BBQ

Photo Credit to Ben Lobenstein and Kay Spencer for the last two photos.
 
Dang it I missed this one again. We live about 8 miles from the western gateway park where this event is hosted. The BBQ competition used to be tied in with the rodeo in May and has since moved to late August and I keep missing it. Next year.

Maybe I'll see you at the feather falls event in October.
 
Maybe I'll see you at the feather falls event in October.
I will be at Feather Falls next month for my 30th contest to reach Master CBJ status. Hope to see you there!

I heard from Ben that the United Way is looking for yet another date for Grills N Grilles due to competing events also being scheduled that same weekend. So don't mark your calendar quite yet for the last Saturday in August...subject to change!
 
I will be at Feather Falls next month for my 30th contest to reach Master CBJ status.

Wish I could be there to congratulate you on achieving the magical 30 milestone, my friend ! Loads of Excellent BBQ between number 1 and number 30.

Looking forward to seeing you in a Blue Shirt !

Bob
 
Wish I could be there to congratulate you on achieving the magical 30 milestone, my friend ! Loads of Excellent BBQ between number 1 and number 30.

Looking forward to seeing you in a Blue Shirt !

Bob

Thank you, Bob! I'm sure to see you at a contest in SoCal next year. I'd like to get into the Honey Festival contest, if someone can tip me off to when the sign-up goes online. ;)
 

 

Back
Top